#cost of living in poland

[bivampirical]

the worst thing to come out of the blue checkmarks fiasco was my realization that usamericans don't consider 8 dollars a lot of money to spend on a joke

[jacisbox]

Officially Homeless

Officially homeless. For the first time in my life. BulgariaCome Thursday, when I move out of my apartment, that’s what I’ll be. Yes, I still have some work but not nearly enough to keep a roof over my head in the UK and keep my head above water with the extortionate cost of living and mounting debts. So, tomorrow, all my stuff is going into storage and I’m going to live in some cheap places for…

[ikuharaisabitch]

Fundraiser for Palestinian student in Poland

I’m posting this fundraiser on behalf of @yahya-abuhassan, Palestinian who’s been studying in Poland for the last 2 years. His entire family, including his older brother who worked as a senior software engineer in Germany, had to flee to the south of Gaza after their home in the north was destroyed.

They are currently living in tent in al-Mawasi, so-called “safe area” that was nevertheless relentlessly bombed by Israel. Yahya is fundraising money to get them to Egypt through the Rafah crossing.

He needs to raise approximately 47 000 $ (enough to evacuate 7 adults and 3 children and pay for their initial living expenses in Egypt), and his fundraiser is only at ~20 000 $!

Short term goal is to raise around 2 500 $ which is the remaining cost to evacuate his older brother with his family, including his elderly mom and cover initial survival costs after evacuation. His brother can then return to work in Germany and hopefully earn enough money to help with faster evacuation of the rest. Right now we raised 0/2500$. I will reblog this post with updates. This fundraiser has been verified by Polish collectives, non-governmental organisations, refugee & human rights activists including Polish-Palestinian sociologist Emil Al-Khawaldeh. Yahya's situation and fundraiser was also described in our national edition of Newsweek. You can find more details in English description of the fundraiser in the link below. 

If you are a foreigner please do not hesitate to donate. Pomagam.pl is the biggest Polish fundraising platform which enables donations via PayPal and credit card. I have tested it with American friends and it works perfectly well. 1$ equals to 4 PLN. You can be charged with intercontinental payment fee, which to my knowledge is usually around 3$ but you will see the amount before payment. Your bank may also require 2-factor-verification before proceeding, which usually means simply pasting a code from your phone to a browser.

[knifylicious]

(28/10) EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS

Hi there, my name is Knives. This post is a remake of my original commission post back from September (which you can see here). Unfortunately my situation hasn't changed much since then and I'm still struggling financially and since the og post has lost traction I've decided to remake it.

To make a long story short, I come from Poland but I spent the past few months living in England. I came here hoping to get accepted into a school but that didn't happen and I straight up can't get a job without a visa so I've been relying hard on commissions to make any kind of money. I make monthly payments for my laptop & phone bill and I'll also have to buy a plane ticket back to Poland by the end of the year so it's a very stressful situation and my funds are close to running out Again.

300pln is roughly 70usd and my laptop, which I have to pay for next month, is going to cost me 211pln. I could really, really use some help.

I won't do N/FW, heavy gore, mecha, irl people or feral designs, everything else can be negotiable. Max 3 characters per slot, any extra characters are half of the base price. Payments through P/pal only. More examples can be found on my blog. Please reblog, I really need the help <3

SLOTS LEFT: 10/10

[24-7-testing]

The end of the year can be tough for a lot of people. My goal is to make it a little bit brighter! Announcing once again the return of..

The Portal Holiday Spirit Initiative!

To help bring a smile to people's faces this year, I am sending FREE Portal-Themed Holiday Cards to anyone who requests one!

This year's cards follow the same format as last year: there is only one card design, this time featuring artwork from your's truly! The cards are still customizable to any Winter Holiday of your choosing, but you'll have to wait for your card to arrive in order to customize it (the method takes cues from the Portal game's sense of humor, and is very much on-brand).

This year is PHSI's 6th year! I'm so grateful to everyone who has participated over the years, whether you've reblogged and shared, requested cards, helped with artwork, or helped in other ways. You all are so amazing! Thanks for volunteering your time, talents, and support to help make PHSI a special fandom tradition!

If you would like to receive a Portal-Themed Holiday Card:

Visit bit.ly/PHSI-2024 ...

Answer the questions in the forms...

Wait for your card to be sent!

It's that easy! Card Requests are now open, and close on December 20th in order to give me enough time to make and send all the cards before the end of the year. Please submit sooner rather than later so I have time to finish them all!

Also, please don’t be afraid to request a physical card if you don’t live in the US! The card service I use says they ship worldwide and, while it might take a bit longer for you to receive your card depending on what country you live in, the cards will get mailed to whatever address you provide, domestic or foreign. Last year I mailed/emailed a total of 111 cards to the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Brazil, Romania, Poland, Australia, Germany, India, Japan, and New Zealand!

I’m glad to be a part of the Portal Fandom and hope to bring a smile to others in the Fandom this year, just as in years past! Designing and emailing Holiday Cards takes time and effort, and sending physical cards is expensive. While it isn't a requirement to receive a card, I would greatly appreciate if you'd like to give $4 to cover the cost of your card or someone else's. Please visit ko-fi.com/247testing and click the Donate button if you want to help out. Thanks!

Answers for common questions and concerns below:

Worried about providing a mailing address, for whatever reason?

PHSI has an eCard option! All you need to provide is a name for me to call you by and an email address to receive your card!

Worried about requesting a card because you don’t live in the US?

PHSI mails to any address provided, whether domestic or foreign! However, please wait patiently for your card, due to the current global rate of shipping.

Worried that you can’t give $4 to cover the cost of your card or someone else’s?

Requesting a card from PHSI has been and will always be FREE! However, giving $4 to the initiative helps me pay for the printing service and postage to mail physical cards. I gratefully appreciate any contributions received, even if it’s just a comment saying thanks!

Worried because you don’t know how to support the artist of the card you received?

The artist’s social media is listed on the back of every card featuring their artwork. Look them up, commission them, reblog their art, and support them however you can!

Worried because you haven’t received your card yet?

Double check your email inbox and junk folders. I send everyone an email that either confirms your Holiday Card has shipped or includes your eCard! Physical cards take 1-2 weeks to arrive. If your physical card fails to show up after the first week of January, please reach out to me and I’ll send you a replacement eCard!

Worried because you received your card and don’t know what to do now?

Make a post about it! Include pictures, videos, or anything you’d like, and tag me in the post (@24-7-testing) so I can reblog it! If you don’t want to show your card off, that’s ok too!

[leatherdyketerror]

PLEASE HELP A TRANS PERSON FROM POLAND GET EXPENSIVE SURGERY

hello, my name is irys (or rysiu if you prefer), i'm a trans person from poland, the country that consistently ranks as the worst one for lgbt people in the eu. it's also the only country in the world where as an adult you have to file a civil lawsuit against both of your parents and win in order to get your legal gender marker changed.

TL;DR - i'm in a life situation where i cannot get money for top surgery anywhere but through fundraising, while my chest prevents me from passing as well as causes physical discomfort due to its size, and i'm unable to mitigate it though binding due to health issues. being 8 months on HRT i'm in a gender middle ground which in this country and my area specifically, puts me at high risk of violence and harassment, especially in bathrooms and changing rooms. having raised funds for 5 months now, the crowdfunding campaign has been going on for way longer than expected, taking a toll on my mental health.

unfortunately, i have barely managed to raise 1/3rd of the total money i need. since my last e-begging post, i managed to only get 40PLN (<10USD).

currently, i have barely 7 000 PLN (~1730 USD) out of the full amount i need to raise, being 21 000 PLN (~5155 USD) total. that includes the cost of accomodation, wound dressings, medication etc. out of that, 17 700 PLN (~4345 USD) goes towards the surgery itself and one mandatory night at the hospital.

‼️FUNDRAISER:

the site includes a full breakdown of the costs as well as a detailed overview of my situation, not limited to but including 4 years of forced detransition, details of my health issues, and why i can't get money any other way but through fundraising, why i can't bind nor use any alternative methods, and other fun facts about my life. i'm not going to mince words, and i'll say that this situation in itself, outside of the many other stressors i'm under, is making me lowkey not want to live anymore. i really just want to get this over with, after so many years of struggling and humiliation. please.

‼️zrzutka.pl takes secure international payments without fees!!! USamericans, your donations have four times the impact due to currency conversion! if you still don't want to use zrzutka, you can use the blue online payment website to directly send me money instead!

(please don't tag the post as anything)

[raspberry-rampage]

big thanks to @allhailhelium and @dragonflylady77 . sometimes I throw my anxieties into the ether but it's nice someone responded with kindness. big hearts <3 <3 <3

update is that it's not good but it's... not awful either?? she's an old dog with cardiological issues, so no surprises there. the visit was prompted by her starting to have her attacks (kinda seizure-like, but it's not seizure?) everyday instead of once in a while. the vet suspects it may be caused by something in the lungs, she got antibiotics for it. check-up in a week. and oohh boy, this visit cost me as much as my monthly rent in my university city (good thing I'm moving out by the end of the year)

If the vet tells me tomorrow that my dog needs to be put down, I might have a nervous breakdown.

[mapsontheweb]

German Colonisation in the East to c. 1400

Beginning in the eleventh century, new arable land was made available in the German kingdom through the clearing of forests and use of irrigation. The new three-field system (originating in northern France) was introduced, by which peasants alternated between winter crops, summer crops and fallow, resulting in increased agricultural productivity. Moreover, several agricultural techniques and equipment were improved: harrows and ploughs were made of iron, the scythe was further developed, the horse replaced the ox as draught animal, there was increased use of the threshing flail, and grains were processed with water mills (and wind mills from the twelfth century onward). Together with the generally favourable conditions of the so-called Medieval Warm Period, this intensification of agriculture led to people having a better and more stable diet and thereby an increase in birth rate. While sparsely populated during the ninth century, the East Frankish (German) kingdom came to rival the population of France sometime during the twelfth century. Farmland was divided and older villages were replaced by so-called Hufen villages and the size and number of cities increased, in turn causing a rise in the price of agricultural goods. Germanic peasants were invited to settle in the lands of German princes in the imperial border marches, as well as Slavic lands such as Bohemia, Moravia, Pomerania, Poland, Mecklenburg and Silesia. From around 1125, a combination of political motives and missionary urge caused the Holy Roman emperor Lothair of Supplinburg to call for increased settlement of lands in the east.

Germanic settlement in the east happened in three general ways: (a) creation of uniformly planned large villages, where settlers received equal land grants and could pass on their holdings as hereditary possessions (b) settlement in cities built by Slavic princes in hitherto Slavic lands where settlers received judicial and administrative autonomy – including the right to build fortifications – and German Law received a privileged position, based on that of an already well-established city in the German heartlands (cf. Magdeburg) (c) settlement in already well-established Slavic communities where settlers could keep their German Law, which was often extended to include the non-Germanic population. By the end of the fourteenth century, the eastward settlement of Germanic people largely ended and much of the agrarian population went to live in the cities, causing many smaller villages to be abandoned. According to the recommendation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Slavic populations were generally left undisturbed by settlers, and economic communities where Germanic and Slavic populations lived together were often the rule. Nevertheless, many territories east of the Elbe and later the Oder came to be Germanised over time and crusading campaigns against pagan Slavic and Baltic peoples throughout the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries resulted in much bloodshed. Moreover, the introduction of a new ship, the cog (Kogge), allowed Germans to take part in the lucrative Baltic trade, which they soon came to dominate at the cost of Slavs and Scandinavians through the Hanseatic League (founded in Lübeck, 1356).

by undevicesimus/deviantart

[zhoufeis]

My news reported on the outfit Taylor Swift wore to the latest Chief win.

Side note: I live in Germany, rarely anyone here cares about American Football, I don't search for Taylor Swift news as I do not like her and I really don't think it is important to know what Taylor Swift is doing or where she is going to report on on the daily news when there's a genocide going on in Palestine, people drowning in Czech, Austria, Poland and Germany, and an explosion happening in one of our big cities this morning. But here we are, with me knowing that the Chiefs are a team featuring Travis Kelce who has won the second match this season, although it first looked like they were going to lose. Mind you, my phone gives me updates on American Football matches, only on the Chiefs games though. Despite me never having watched a game in my entire life. I tend to wonder how her fans would like to explain the overexposure...

Back to the point I was going to make. The outfit she wore apparently cost 5,100 euros (that's around 5,700 dollars), another very important thing to know. I just came here to drop this as a reminder why "eat the rich" is a beautiful statement. Do you know how many people could be given food to with this money that this billionaire wore on her body to a fucking Football game? Eat the rich, eat their clothes, eat their shoes, eat their hair, eat their skins. They are living in luxury and exaggeration, in bliss and happiness of expensive clothes and good skin, uncaring for the poor. She isn't a feminist, she isn't an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights or for non-white people. She is a capitalist doll, a mere player in a pre-determined game of Monopoly cause she owns the money of the bank. And for everyone who says she is just a woman with feelings behind her whole stardom - there comes a point when people have so much money and power in the world that it doesn't matter anymore who they are as individuals. They don't become part of the problem, they become the problem. She is there, she's been there for long. And she has the fucking power to decide who is going to be the next president - that isn't stanworthy, kind artist with feelings, that's goddamn dangerous. I don't care about who she has ever been, she's a dangerous woman to the world out there cause she holds power over things she shouldn't.

[thoughtlessarse]

Price levels vary significantly in the EU, with the highest prices being 2.4 times the lowest. Variations differ with factors such as tax and labour costs playing a role. Is your country more expensive than other European countries? Which goods and services are cheaper than the EU average in your country? Price level indices (PLIs) are designed to make these comparisons possible. They measure and compare the prices of goods and services between different countries. Essentially, PLIs indicate how much more expensive or cheaper goods and services are in a specific country compared with another country or group of countries, such as the EU or Europe. The "overall" indicator is the household final consumption expenditure, which includes the direct spending of resident households. This indicator reflects the total outlay on goods and services. According to Eurostat, the EU's official statistical office, price levels for household final consumption expenditure varied significantly across the EU in 2023. Denmark had the highest price levels at 143% of the EU average, followed by Ireland at 142% and Luxembourg at 135%. Conversely, Bulgaria and Romania had the lowest price levels, both at 60%, with Poland at 66%.

continue reading

The article doesn't only cover alcohol and tobacco (A&T), but you can compare restaurants and hotels, clothing, food and non-alcoholic beverages (F&NB), personal transport equipment, and consumer electronics. The comparison is for EU and non-EU countries in Europe.

Ireland is the second most expensive for A&T, and seventh for F&NB, both well above the EU average. The Netherlands comes in 10th for A&T (above EU average), and 27th (below EU average) for F&NB. Ireland is just a very expensive country to live in, although clothing comes in below the EU average.

@irishthings might find this interesting.

[slay00ryu]

The Devil is your Saviour. Ronin x transfem!reader

---------------------------------------------

Tw!!!

- religious trauma

- Ronin™ type of shit

- mentions of transohobic behaviour

- mentions of gender dysphoria

- family issues (a bit of abuse)

------------------------------------------------------------------

December. The month you hated the most in your life. It was the time when Christmas was just everywhere and Christians went crazy. For you it was the month when you lost all your faith and trust in God. You could remember the exact situation that made you absolutely fear God's judgment like it was yesterday.

In your life you could feel like something was wrong with you, your body never felt like yours. The boy you saw in the mirror looked distant, he wasn't who you were. But you were too young to understand these feelings then.

Your young self always loved and cherished God, going to the church and attending religious education in both elementary and primary school. You loved the idea of the Holy Father being your saviour and guide throughout your life. Your family was extremely religious, and hateful towards anything that was sin in their eyes.

So they weren't happy when you looked up to female figures, or showed interest in dresses, make up and things that were for "girls". When you looked at a dress and said that you would like one just like that, your mother would drag you away from it and say in a cold tone.

"You're a boy deadname act like one! Only girls can wear dresses. God made you a boy, don't disappoint him!"

You would look at her with confusion in your eyes. But why? Why couldn't you put on that extremely pretty pink dress? You never asked these questions. You just nodded and accepted it.

There were many similar situations like these, you could as well start a story time channel with how many there were. But one in particular came to mind when someone asked you why you were afraid of God so much.

It happened when you were around twelve years old. Your supervising teacher was changed. Mr. Nowak was a very kind and interesting person, he always said some facts about his home country, Poland. One day he made a special lesson, about different sexualities and gender identities. He came out to all of you as a trans man, with a gentle smile he answered every question even if they were too personal.

That's when everything clicked.

Your discomfort with what you saw in the mirror, interest in things that were assigned as girly or feminine. It explained why you never looked at your face when you looked in a mirror, or you just avoided your reflections at all cost.

You felt so excited at the realisation. So the first thing that you did when you returned home was get your parents and siblings to the living room. You told them about your new discovery and how you thought that you were born in the wrong body, how you felt like a girl. You expected them to be just as happy as you were in that situation.

What a pathetic mistake it was.

Your whole family looked at you with horror in their eyes, their gazes turned from surprised to cold and disgusted in a span of seconds.

Your father stood up from his armchair and grabbed you by your shoulders. He was shaking you violently. Screaming, cursing and telling things that no one should say to a child. When he was done he pushed you to the ground with strength that meant to hurt. He left the living room, cursing you under his breath.

Next was your mother. She grabbed your wrist and pulled you from the ground, she wasn't gentle, she was just so full of anger in that moment.

"Don't ever say things like that! God made you a boy! Do you think that the Holy Father will protect a disgusting thing like you?! Oh no, he won't. He will despise you, send you to hell and you can forget about your perfect paradise."

She slapped your face when she saw the tears running down your face.

"Stop acting like a little girl! Deadname! That's who you were born into. Never forget that."

After that you stopped even looking at dresses. You were just so afraid of God's disappointment when he saw you questioning his creation. You felt like you were about to suffocate when you were in church or in religious education. Life wasn't the same anymore. It would never be.

For a few years you lived in a lie. A lie that you're a man. You never thought that you were a woman, you never liked feminine things nor did you look up to women. The light in your life went out. You were just following your parents' wishes and whims.

I'm a boy. I'm not a girl. Stupid deadname!

You were truly miserable. Your skin wasn't yours. Your body was someone else's. Even the name people called you didn't feel like something that belonged to you. Every day it became worse and worse. You just wanted to forget about this strange emotion you felt every time you looked at yourself in the mirror.

You can't be a sinner, you can't be a freak.

You were telling yourself different insults everyday. That's a sin. That's something you should be ashamed of. God will never accept you. No one will ever accept you.

If it wasn't for your teacher in high school then you would probably still try to live in a lie even now. She was the first person who noticed how panicked you always seemed, her first assumption was domestic violence. She wasn't too far from the truth, your family abused you, but their abuse was verbal and emotional, rather than physical. She called for your parents and told them that they can either send you to a therapist or she will inform the police that your family is suspected of being abusive. Your parents' honour and great reputation could be at risk so they gave in.

At first the therapy sessions were really awkward, you didn't know how much you could say or what you should hide. But the person who worked with you was really persuasive and you started to open up.

Your therapist was the first person who didn't look at you with disgust when you described how you felt just so trapped in your own body. They understood it immediately. Showed great care and support, even promised to keep it a secret from your parents.

After years in therapy, even after you basically ran away from that abusive household it was hard for you to just accept yourself. You started to present more feminine and it gave you a great sense of ease, but was it really a good thing? You decided to change what God has created, you destroyed his work. You would never find the paradise you so desperately hoped for.

Or so you thought.

After Ronin basically threw you into deep waters or the killers' den, you started to change your opinions. Especially after Ronin's confession about the best feeling in his life. You could understand him. You were extremely happy when you bought your first dress and grew out your hair.

Ronin's choice of words was something that piqued your interest the most. "Grotesqueness." That's how he called what the both of you felt and experienced. You gave the word a long thought process and somehow it felt just perfect.

Your life was indeed very grotesque ever since you started to realise how wrong the body you were born in was.

But you stopped hating yourself for being who you truly were. Even if your fear of God was something that stopped you from believing in him, you could at least let yourself enjoy your life.

You finally accepted yourself as (user) and let deadname find his peace in the small grave you made for him in your backyard.

🎭

The two of you have been dating for a while now. You shared lots of positive and dysphoric moments. Sometimes you just sit on your bathroom floor and hold each other in your arms, telling how the both of you are just perfect the way you were. And other days you would enjoy yourselves with dates, random romantic homicides or simple quality time in silence.

You needed Ronin, you could feel how much you needed him in your life. Not even because of his corruption. He is someone who you can look up to. Someone who truly understands your struggles and sees how the invisible scars in your mind are slowly healing.

Ronin also shares another problem with you. He also has a reason to not believe in God. Well he feels hate instead of fear. He made himself the Devil, he lives in it and loves it.

You desired to feel this way too. You desperately needed to love yourself to the fullest. But that wasn't possible. You needed someone to be your creator and saviour, someone who could be the God in your new life.

It really scared you to be abandoned by your creator and left to suffer eternal punishment. That fear wasn't something a simple therapy could just fix. This run deep in your veins, was engraved into your skin and sewed into your brain. Years of your family's hate and malice. It all ruined your view on God. This isn't something that could ever be fixed, you will never cherish God like you used to and you had to accept that.

🎭

You were thinking about every person in your life. You desperately sought a saviour in one of them. At first you thought about your therapist, they helped you escape your town and tried their best to help you accept yourself. But that wasn't it.

It has to be someone who actually had a great impact on your life. Who can be called a creator. Your therapist never made you act in a certain way, they didn't give you a purpose.

Then your mind traveled to him, Ronin. He made you into his perfect killer lover, he corrupted your mind and made you his fallen angel. Was it not a creator enough? But was he a saviour? He did show you support on the hard days, was there for you and called you "his perfect girlfriend who's just as fucked up as he is". He went through lengths of listening to your self doubts after all the trauma you went through and still found a way to make you cherish being a woman. He made you feel like you were a real woman.

He helped you in accepting yourself. So in your eyes Ronin could be as well your creator and your saviour. Maybe not the holiest in this world, but you were meant to burn in hell anyway.

Why not have the Devil as your sweetheart, saviour and creator while you're at it?

🎭

You were laying down on the floor, Ronin laying next to you. He was holding your hand as the both of you were listening to some emo music from the 90's.

User: Ronin... I want you to know something.

Ronin: Hm? What is it, what's wrong princess?

He pulled himself up and rested his chin in his palm. He was looking into your eyes somehow softly, it was an unusual sight for sure, but it surely made you feel loved by this crazy man.

User: I finally found the last piece to my happiness and freedom.

You smiled at him as you said it. For a second he didn't understand what you meant, but then he noticed that loving look you were giving him. After the realisation hit him, his cocky grin was glued to his mouth.

Ronin: Oh? And what could that be?

His face is dangerously close to yours, but you don't mind. You loved these endless black eyes that looked like the abyss itself.

User: It's you. It's always been you Ronin. You're the saviour I so desperately needed. You're the creator I sought for so long.

Your words felt like music to his ears. He lived in them. Buried them deep in his mind to remember them. His little darling, the woman he devoted himself to rebuilding for what he believed was best for her. His fallen angel.

She acknowledged him as her saviour. He could laugh God in face now, because for one of his most devoted lambs he just became the saviour she needed.

Ronin didn't give you a straight answer. It wouldn't fit him and his style. He lowered his head to kiss you, passionately and eagerly. His fingers dug into your waist, your arms clenched around the back of his neck.

You were the fire, and he's the gasoline, making your flame stronger.

You became the ripped shreds of silks, so Ronin became the needle to sew you into a new imperfectly perfect form.

You are a lonely girl without hopes or dreams, and he's someone who can become your greatest wish.

[userparamore]

hi! genuine question - why is it a disappointment that pmore performed at eras tour? i’m very neutral on taylor swift so i don’t really know the issues surrounding it. thank you in advance ❤️

i'm no taylor swift stan so i don't really want to, or have the energy to mention everything. but from a paramore fan perspective it's disappointing bc it's makes them come across as hypocrites. i've talked about this before and i don't want to get into it again but they've spoken up about climate change, hayley even jokes about root being about our planet "running out of time", they've partenered with REVERB on their this why tour (which i guess is a little greenwashing-ish but better than nothing). but this ends up being ungenuine when you tour with the artist who releases the most co2 emission out of every celebrity. the fact that she sued the kid who called her out for this, i think says alot about her as a person. paramore preaches about the shows being a safe place for everyone; all poc and lgbtq+. but then they tour with the prime example of white feminism, who only speaks up/comments on things if it affects her. and again with paramore claiming to be more political during the this is why album cycle, and expressed multiple times how important the diversity of their fans are etc. it does not seem genuine when they're praising an artist like taylor swift as much as they have been doing. i think that saying of: if you want to know someone, just look at who they choose to spend their time with, is very true.

another part of this and i think this is probably the biggest one for paramore fans in general is that the tours during this is why didn't include europe mainland (or asia). they toured only in uk&ireland for this is why, and then in interviews said they did an european tour. is the european tour in the room with us now? anyway, the last european mainland tour was jan 2018, and had only 3 dates that wasn't in the uk out of 8. so the last real european tour was summer 2017 with 18 dates. 6 of them was in the uk&ireland and 4 of the rest of the european dates were festivals leaving only 8 "real" concerts in mainland europe. lots of the countries on the eras tours, like italy, poland, switzerland etc paramore haven't played in over a decade (aka during the self-titled era). to have waited this long for them to tour and then for it to cost close to 400 dollars for a nosebleed ticket, if you even get a ticket, does not feel great. another thing is that for some of these countries paramore have made 2 albums since the last time they toured, and they've never had the opportunity to hear any of the songs from those albums live. as the opener act on the eras tour, paramore played 9 song. most of these were their greatest hits. as a paramore fan you obviously want to go to a concert to see them perform, but for that amount of money i think it's reasonable to want to hear other songs than still into you, ain't it fun and misery business. the setlist was catered to reach non-fans, and that's fine honestly, it would probably be worse for them to play songs "nobody" had heard, than the one's that had commercial success and makes them be able to have some crowd interaction.

either way, i don't think people would've been as disappointed by this tour if they had also announced an solo european tour. the argument that this will get them new fans and make them a bigger name doesn't hold water in my opinion bc paramore are already a big band. they're already a band who can sell out tours and big venues on their own.

[gavisuntiedboot]

If you think that Israel should belong to the Palestinians, not saying you are wrong. What do u think should happen to the almost 7 million Jews that live there? I’m not asking this as a condescending statement, it’s genuine curiosity.

Hi - I'm actually really glad you asked this question!

So it's a very very common misconception that the freedom of Palestine means something negative for Jewish individuals that reside there. This was a tool used in apartheid South Africa and Jim Crow-era USA. In both of those countries, the common propaganda was this: "If we integrate Black people into society, if we treat them as equals, then they're going to kill all of us White people!"

I, as a Palestinian, along with the majority of Palestinians, don't have an issue with the Jewish people remaining within Palestine. So, in short, they don't have to go anywhere. However, settlers who have taken over the homes of Palestinians (as is what happened to my ancestral home in Nablus) would probably need to move out and give the houses back to their rightful owners. But they wouldn't need to leave the country.

Israel is built on the idea that "Israel can only survive if we wipe Palestinians off the face of the earth!" That's why a lot of Israelis and Jewish people believe a free Palestine is a threat. Because they believe that the establishment of a State and extermination to be linked. They are not.

All the Jewish people there would be able to become Palestinian citizens living under Palestinian law. They would give back ancestral homes and lands that were taken by force, but there is a lot of land in Palestine, so they would be able to live and work and own property fairly and ethically within the country.

Palestinians have never had an issue with Jewish people. (Aside: some Zionists will tell you this isn't true because Palestinians call it the "Jewish Occupation" in Arabic, but Israel used to block newspapers and radios from Palestinians, so they didn't even know Zionism was a word until the late 80s/early 90s. The only word they had was Jewish). There are Arab Jews living in Palestine under the occupation, and they want the same thing: for Palestine to be a free and independent sovereign state. Because Arab Jews are also denied the "right of return" to Israel.

Give Palestine to the Palestinians. Allow them to be self determined, to establish a government and a stable ruling body, to give rights to the citizens of the country based on who is from the land and who lives there. Allow Palestine to exist as a country that people can live in and immigrate to, just like every country on Earth. It is not about kicking Jews out - it is about having the ability to control the land that has been ours for thousands of years, to establish a system of law and government, to be free.

Because this is the talking point that a lot of Zionists give: "well Jews are indigenous to the land!!" Okay well, yes and no.

More than 80% of Israel is European descent (even the people in the government - they change their names to sound more "Jewish"). As you can tell by the rates of skin cancer in Israel, they are NOT indigenous to the Middle East. So if they wanna negotiate with Poland or New York for a slice of land, that's well within their rights. Another large portion are African Jews from Ethiopia and other places - also not indigenous. And then we get to the small subset of Jewish people that are actually indigenous to the Middle East: those are Palestinians. Their religion does not change that. And yet they're the ones being treated like second class citizens.

Give the governing power and control to the people native to the land. The people who came don't have to leave, they just have to operate under new management.

(Last aside for this very long post - when the "war" started, a ton of dual-citizen Israelis fled back to where they came from. Most of them come to reap the benefits that are afforded to them at the cost of Palestinian oppression, and they can pick up and go back to London or New York or wherever whenever they want, but my grandparents can never go back to their village.)

[24-7-testing]

The end of the year can be tough for a lot of people. My goal? To make it a little bit brighter. That's why I'm pleased to once again announce the return of...

The Portal Holiday Spirit Initiative!

To help bring a smile to people's faces this year, I will be sending FREE Portal-Themed Holiday Cards to anyone who asks for one! There are a few changes to the cards this year because life has gotten very busy for me and I have less free time than in years past.

This year there will only be one card design, featuring artwork from one of the Portal Fandom's awesome artists! The cards will still be customizable to any Winter Holiday of your choosing, but you'll have to wait for your card to arrive in order to see how (the method takes cues from the Portal game's sense of humor, so it will very much be on-brand).

This year is also special because it is PHSI's 5th Anniversary! I can’t express the amount of thanks everyone who has participated over the years, whether you've reblogged and shared, requested cards, helped with artwork, or helped in other ways. You all deserve my recognition and thanks for volunteering your time, talents, and support! Thanks for helping to make PHSI a special fandom tradition!

If you would like to receive a Portal-Themed Holiday Card:

Visit bit.ly/PHSI-2023 ...

Answer the questions in the forms...

Wait for your card to be sent!

It's that easy! Card Requests are now open, and close on December 20th in order to give me enough time to make and send all the cards before the end of the year. Please submit sooner rather than later so I have time to finish them all!

Also, please don’t be afraid to request a physical card if you don’t live in the US! The card service I've chosen says they ship worldwide and, while it might take a bit longer for you to receive your card depending on what country you live in, the cards will get mailed to whatever address you provide, domestic or foreign. Last year I mailed/emailed a total of 164 cards to Italy, Canada, Germany, England, Poland, The US, The United Kingdom, Brazil, India, and Slovenia!

I’m happy to be a part of the Portal Fandom and hope to bring a smile to others in the Fandom this year! Making and emailing Holiday Cards takes time and effort, and sending physical cards is expensive. While it isn't a requirement to receive a card, I would greatly appreciate if you'd like to give $4 to cover the cost of your card or someone else's. Please visit ko-fi.com/247testing and click the Donate button if you want to help out. 

Also, feel free to DM me with any questions or comments. Thanks!

Answers for common questions and concerns under the cut:

Worried about providing a mailing address, for whatever reason?

PHSI has an eCard option! All you need to provide is a name for me to call you by and an email address to receive your card!

Worried about requesting a card because you don’t live in the US?

PHSI mails to any address provided, whether domestic or foreign! However, please wait patiently for your card, due to the current global rate of shipping.

Worried that you can’t give $4 to cover the cost of your card or someone else’s?

Requesting a card from PHSI has been and will always be FREE! However, giving $4 to the initiative helps me pay for the printing service and postage to mail physical cards (visit ko-fi.com/247testing if you’d like to contribute). I gratefully appreciate any contributions received, even if it’s just a comment saying thanks!

Worried because you don’t know how to support the artist of the card you received?

The artist’s social media is listed on the back of every card featuring their artwork. Look them up, commission them, reblog their art, and support them however you can!

Worried because you haven’t received your card yet?

Double check your email inbox and junk folders. I send everyone an email that either confirms your Holiday Card has shipped or includes your eCard! Physical cards take 1-2 weeks to arrive. If your physical card fails to show up after the first week of January, please reach out to me and I’ll send you a replacement eCard!

Worried because you received your card and don’t know what to do now?

Make a post about it! Include pictures, videos, or anything you’d like, and tag me in the post (@24-7-testing) so I can reblog it! If you don’t want to show your card off, that’s ok too!

[tomorrowusa]

« The reason these colonial wars take a long time is that it’s the aggressor who needs to come to the conclusion that the attack was a mistake. Possibly, the Russians are already there. But they also have to conclude that the cost in blood and treasure is not worth the objective. They’re clearly not there yet. It usually also takes a change of team, unfortunately. And we have no indications of it, which is why the war is continuing. I think we should have a base scenario of some more years. If we get a solution earlier, that would be a bonus. »

— Poland's Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in conversation with editor Ravi Agrawal at Foreign Policy. (archived)

One thing which many people don't get is that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a neo-colonialist war.

Some leaders in South and Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America give Russia a mulligan because Russia didn't have colonies in their regions. They fail to notice that Russia's colonies have been in the "near abroad" – Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Those areas are NOT natural parts of Russia which was just a principality called Muscovy about the size of Denmark at its inception.

As with any colonial war, the imperialist aggressor will keep wasting lives and resources until it belatedly reaches the conclusion that the cost of the war is too high. This can take a while because of the pigheadedness of the leader(s) of the aggressor country.

The US War of Independence lasted from 1775 until a de facto ceasefire in 1781.

Portugal kept fighting wars in its African colonies 18 years after France and Britain began the process of decolonization on the continent. It took the democratic revolution of 1974 in Portugal, with its overthrow of a quasi-fascist régime, to bring the troops home from the now former colonies.

So nobody should expect a quick and easy victory for Ukraine against the former colonial power which is foolishly attempting to subjugate it once again. Driving up the price which Russia has to pay for this geopolitical mistake is the most reliable way to bring this war to an end.

[pabsterthelobster]

The "Ascended" Spidersonas

For the third volume of Spider-Verse comics that came out in 2019, the concept of the "Spidersona" that was popularized by the release of the animated film Into the Spider-Verse was acknowledged by way of integrating three different Spidersonas each issue into the comic multiverse through short character profiles at the end of each issue. The former half of these 18 characters would even show up in the final issue of the run in person, with Sun-Spider getting some particularly special treatment afterwards.

Spidersona hero names are bolded and real names (if avaliable) are in parentheses.

Issue 1

Spider-Requiem (Polymnia Swan) of Earth-98117: Created by Cotton Valent from Thailand, Ms. Swan, named after the Greek Muse of Dance, hides her scarred face with her mask and uses her webs to control handmade puppets in combat.

Spinster of Earth-93191: Made by Antonio Demico of France with a design inspired by both the French Revolution and the original Madame Web, the Spinster can generate webs from her prehensile hair which she can then use to spy on conversation like a

V of Earth-43890: As written by V-0-3 from Poland, V is a robotic Spider who lives in Kyoto in the year 2177 who fights crime both physically and digitally, being able to connect herself to the internet to stop cybercrimes.

Issue 2

Spidair of Earth-91202: As written by Dice Shimi of France, Spidair was bitten by a spider from a space laborabtory and possesses thick skin that protects him from extreme temperature immunity as well as the ability to glow brightly to blind enemies.

Sea-Spider of Earth-19192: Being able to breathe underwater and wielding a hook and grappling pistols, the sona provided by the UK's James Gifford is a Spanish nobleman who sails the seas aboard his ship the Aracne.

Spider-Sting of Earth-38418: As explained by Tori Apiradee, Spider-Sting's powers are more acidic in nature, with webs that can erode concrete and bricks.

Issue 3

Sun-Spider (Charlotte "Charlie" Webber) of Earth-20023: Considered the breakout hit of these sonas, Dayna Broder's Sun-Spider has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which makes her hyper-flexible at the cost of needing to use crutches and a wheelchair for stability. She has received her own dedicated story in Edge of the Spider-Verse as well as a vocal cameo in Across the Spider-Verse.

Garden-Spider (Petunia Parker) of Earth-71925: After being shrunken down in size, Petunia tends to her garden, swinging from the flowers like they were skyscrapers to fight against villainous insects like the Aphid. Her creator is Alyssa Ragni of the US.

White Widow (Venice Doadi) of Earth-23233: Carly Henson describes this sona as coming from a future timeline, possessing the ability to secrete toxins from her bare skin, which she coats both her webs and clawed fingers with.